Alex was confused; he could not understand why Captain Pannell would say something like that. After a pause, he made his own analysis and asked, “Captain Pannell, generally, only suspects or people involved in the case need to be investigated. According to your words, are you treating me as a suspect?”
Big Ken looked more nervous than Alex. He stood up and looked Captain Pannell directly in the eye as he said with an expressionless face, “Captain Pannell, there’s no problem in letting my Young Master cooperate with the investigation.
Even if you don’t ask, with Young Master’s relationship with Captain Simpson and Chief Judge Whitman, he would be willing to do his best to help. But you’re saying you’re putting him under investigation? You need to make things clear!”
“Was there a mistake?” Even Jane was confused. “Captain Pannell, what’s going on?”
Captain Pannell was not surprised by the current situation. Shaking his head, he said helplessly, “To put it bluntly, we caught the driver involved in the case. According to the driver, the mastermind behind the bombing was Alex Cohen. Like you, I don’t believe that either, but…”
“What?”
Big Ken interrupted Captain Pannell in astonishment and shook his head. “This is clearly a set-up! Captain, where is that driver you mentioned? Let him confront us face-to-face!”
“We’ve already confirmed that the driver is one of the criminals, so it’s impossible to bring him here, and even more impossible to confront him face-to-face now. Big Ken, was it? As Alex’s bodyguard, I can understand your feelings of wanting to always protect your employer, but you should also heed the procedures.
Now is not the time to act like that. Letting Alex come with me for the investigation is the right way to clear suspicion on him. It’s not as if he’s going to be sentenced immediately. He’ll just be detained.”
“You’re going to arrest my Young Master because of a sentence someone said? Then, as a witness, if you planned everything, wouldn’t you have to take me in for investigation too?
Captain Pannell, don’t think that I’m trying to stir things up. I’m not an unreasonable person. You can arrest my Young Master, but please produce evidence first! By the way, don’t you have to show an arrest warrant to arrest someone?”
Big Ken took into consideration that Alex had too many enemies. If people were to learn that Alex was detained just because of something a person said, then more people might use this trick in the future. The cost required for this set-up was really too low as all it took was a few words.
Even if he did not consider the possible consequences, he still had to take into account Alex’s reputation.
It was ridiculous. How could someone with Alex Cohen’s identity be detained at random?
At that, Captain Pannell’s temper rose too. He said to Big Ken with a straight face, “If you insist on making trouble out of this, I have the right to charge you for obstruction of justice, and you’ll be arrested as well! This was originally a simple matter.
All I wanted was to verify whether Alex is a suspect or not, but it seems like you both have a guilty conscience and are afraid to accept the investigation. Now, I’m even starting to think that the driver might be telling the truth.”
Big Ken shook his head. “Isn’t your way of investigating cases too casual?”
“Do you think I want to investigate Alex Cohen just because of a criminal’s words? Since you’ve brought the matter to this point, I’ll make it clear.
Alex asked for Chief Judge Whitman’s help, but Chief Judge Whitman insisted on doing things in a strictly business-like manner. Inviting him for a meal wasn’t easy either. Now this gives birth to a conflict, which can be used as a motive for Alex to plan the bombing!”
Alex, who had been contemplating for a long time, suddenly interjected, “Captain Pannell, I mentioned before that the meal I hosted last night was just a gathering between friends.
I had no intentions of using it to get closer to Chief Judge Whitman and we don’t have any conflicts either. What I’m saying is the truth. Those who were present at the time can testify for me.”
“Since Gunner Young and Fallon Ballantine are your partners, they will definitely speak in your favor. The only one who would be willing to speak impartially is Captain Simpson, who happens to be in a coma. Who do you think can testify for you now?”
“Very well… Captain Pannell, for the sake of Captain Simpson and Chief Judge Whitman, I’ll go back with you and accept the investigation. However, I have to keep my mobile phone to ensure that I don’t miss any calls.”
Captain Pannell shook his head. “According to the regulations, you can’t contact the outside world privately when you’re in custody.”
“This is not because I want to contact the outside world, but I’m waiting for an important call instead.”
“Even if it’s the most important thing in the world, it has to wait until the investigation is over! Alex Cohen, I know you’re a big shot. Under normal circumstances, I would probably try to make things easier for you as long as it doesn’t violate my principles. However, you’re a suspect now, so it doesn’t matter what you say. If all suspects are like you, then how are we supposed to conduct our investigations?”
“I’m waiting for the call to transfer Captain Simpson to another hospital and arrange for an operation that would save his life.”
Jane suddenly became nervous when she heard that, and she said to Captain Pannell, “Whether my uncle can survive this will depend on Alex’s connections. Not only is Alex waiting for the call from the important person, but we’re all waiting as well. If we miss it, my uncle may never wake up.”
Frowning at Jane, Captain Pannell reminded, “Alex Cohen is now the prime suspect. Are you sure you want to speak up for him? If the bombing was really orchestrated by him, how can he be sincerely trying to save Captain Simpson? I suggest that we wait until the investigation is over.”
“How long do we have to wait? Even if we can afford to wait, can my uncle afford it as well?”
“That’s…” Captain Pannell pondered for a moment but he eventually nodded. “Fine. Alex Cohen, you can take your cell phone with you, but you can only answer calls. You’re not allowed to make any calls. When you answer the phone, there must be a police officer present, and you have to put it on speaker.”
When Big Ken saw that Alex had agreed to be detained, he immediately turned anxious. “Young Master, don’t be impulsive. Even if you’re willing to accept the investigation, you should wait until he gets the arrest warrant. I can take advantage of that time to arrange a lawyer for you.”
“No need.”
Alex waved his hand and solemnly said to Big Ken, “Big Ken, don’t worry. I’m not afraid since I have a clear conscience, so there’s no need to arrange for a lawyer. I’ll leave it to Captain Pannell to investigate this however he wants to.
The same as Captain Pannell, I also want to solve the case as soon as possible. The sooner I clear my name, the more beneficial it is to the follow-up investigation for the case. Otherwise, Captain Pannell would think of me as a suspect, which is bound to distract him and affect other aspects of the investigation.”
“Alright…” Big Ken shook his head helplessly. “I’ll listen to you, Young Master.”
Captain Pannell gave a flaunting glance at Big Ken as he said to Alex, “In that case, my investigation of you officially begins. You are not allowed to carry anything with you except your cell phone. You can choose to give your personal belongings to someone else, or you can give them to me for safekeeping.”
With a nod, Alex took out his keyring and wallet and put them on the table. He then said to Big Ken, “Please hold onto these for me.”
“Wait!”
Captain Pannell was quick-eyed as he swooped down and picked up Alex’s keyring before he took out a USB flash drive that was strung together with the key to the villa’s door. “I have to take this with me!”
Alex was suddenly nervous.
That USB flash drive was a private item. All kinds of audio and videos he collected in the past were stored inside there, but it had been a while since he used it as he had forgotten about it. Though now that Captain Pannell mentioned it, Alex remembered it and carefully combed through the contents inside.
Only then did he realize that when Big Ken and he tortured the enemy, the video of his confession had been stored in the USB flash drive.
Moreover, there was also the recording he used to resolve Xena Sanders’s frame-up of him, the recording to counter Junette Cohen, the video about Exo Quirke recorded at the hotel. Some surveillance videos used as evidence were also in the flash drive… Wait, he remembered now!
Alex was thinking when his eyes suddenly lit up. He eagerly said to Captain Pannell, “I remember who set off the bomb!”
“What?” Captain Pannell was stunned. “You know who it was? Alex Cohen, are you trying to play tricks now that you know you have nowhere to hide?”
“Captain Pannell, I didn’t tell you this last night, but when I saw the face of the person who detonated the bomb, I felt that she was a little familiar.
I just never remembered who it was. But when I saw the USB flash drive just now, I recalled carefully and finally remembered it!”
Captain Pannell asked doubtfully, “Are you sure?”
“If you don’t believe me, find a computer and plug in the flash drive. I’ll show it to you now!” Alex said confidently. “The image of that person is in the flash drive!”
